


Remember, remember

by DoctorBilly



Series: Tales from the Billyverse [26]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Billstrade, Billyverse, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-01
Updated: 2015-11-03
Packaged: 2018-04-29 09:54:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5123291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoctorBilly/pseuds/DoctorBilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set in the Billyverse, Billy and Greg Lestrade-Holmes have been married for nearly a year. Billy wants to give Greg a quiet 65th birthday at their house in the Camargue. Unfortunately, Greg's birthday falls on Halloween, and their daughter has been invited to a party in London…</p><p>Written for SFPAC  Death, Saints and the Supernatural</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's a mystery

**Author's Note:**

> I have decided to subvert this challenge a little bit. Instead of three separate stories, each prompt will have one of three chapters in a single story. (It works better for the writing. Sorry if it doesn't fit the challenge rules exactly).
> 
>  
> 
> Chapter 1:The supernatural.  
> Prompt words: bat; pumpkin; black  
> Characters: Billy; Greg

"I love this house."

Billy sighs and snuggles into Greg's chest. Greg wraps his arms tighter around him and squeezes.

"I like it, too. Especially at this time of year."

The Lestrade-Holmses are taking the opportunity of having a few days to themselves before the whirlwind that is their daughter Hero arrives home from school for half term.

"I was going to give this place to you, you know."

"Were you?" Greg frowns. "When? Why, for that matter?"

"When I was with… " Billy stops, starts again. "Before we were married. Before I knew Hero was yours."

Greg shuts down the memories that still make his eyes prickle.

"Why, Bill?"

Billy smiles, strokes his husband's silver hair.

"You always said you wanted to go back to the Camargue when you retired…"

Greg frowns again.

"Didn't you ever plan to live here?"

"No. I had the SeaGlass, and then the house in Toulouse, although technically, that's Hero's. This was part of my father's legacy. Mycroft insisted I have it. I wasn't too keen. I mean, how many homes does one person need? But I'm glad now. You like it here so much…"

"I don't think I'd want to move here permanently, though. I like London, and I love the flat in St Johns Wood."

"Speaking of which…"

"What?"

"Mycroft needs me in London for November 5th."

"Bonfire Night?"

"No. Well, yes, but I think that's just a coincidence. Something to do with the family, but he won't tell me. I hate secrets."

"It can't be anything worse than the secrets he's already revealed, can it? I mean, your PhD research turning up was pretty big. Hero was pretty big, as well…"

"Me being a Holmes." Billy smiles, a little sadly. "My mum's bones being uncovered."

"Yeah. There can't be any more, surely?"

"Hope not. " Billy smiles. "Anyway, because of Mycroft, I can't really say no to Hero…"

Greg narrows his eyes. He can tell when someone is up to something. Billy is sending out all the signals.

"What are you hiding?"

"Hero's been invited to a Halloween party."

"In London, I assume?"

"Yeah. I was hoping to be able to give it a miss this year. That's one of the things I like about France. Not having to dress up as something weird. Not having to decorate everything in orange and black. Not having trick-or-treaters banging on the door." Billy smiles. "I wanted to give you a nice, quiet, civilised birthday this year."

Greg laughs.

"I'd just as soon forget my birthday. I'm feeling my age…"

"Sixty five's not old."

"Says the youngster. I feel like a cradle-snatcher sometimes."

"I'm not sure that works when the snatchee's forty two."

Greg smiles.

"Forty two. Married with a kid. Who'd have thought it?"

"Not me. I never expected to get to thirty."

Greg changes the subject.

"So. Halloween party?"

Billy grins.

"Sally Donovan's throwing one for Lucille and some of the other Yarders' kids. She's invited Hero."

"And Hero wants to go." Greg sighs. "I was hoping that her being French might mean that she's not interested…"

"Not interested in dressing up and partying? Sorry, Greg. Being an eleven year old girl wins out over being French. " Billy grins. "She wants you to make a pumpkin pie."

Greg sighs. Bows to the inevitable.

"All right. I'll make pumpkin pie, and if you are going to decorate my flat, do it tastefully."

"I was thinking of a big carved pumpkin on the fire escape. Maybe the odd crepe-paper bat here or there…"

"All right. Do you want me to take Hero to the party? Just so you don't have any toffee-apple encounters?"

Billy laughs, nervously, remembering the last time he had encountered apples at Halloween.

"No. It's probably time I got over being scared of apples. It's not something I want to have to explain to Hero. We'll both go."

"All right. And I'll come with you to find out what Mycroft's planning. "


	2. Toussaint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mycroft, Billy and Greg meet to discuss important family matters. 
> 
> This chapter is written for the second part of the challenge:Saints
> 
> Prompt for this chapter: saints; book; relic  
> Characters for this chapter: Greg; Billy; Mycroft

Mycroft Holmes reads through the document one last time. He takes a deep breath and signs it, passing it over to his assistant. At last, after a long investigation, Ellen Wiggins's remains can be released to her son.

"Please make sure that this goes directly to the commanding officer. And take a copy for my file."

The assistant nods and leaves the room silently. He has been well trained. Mycroft is less tolerant of noise and sloppiness than he had been in younger days. Even then, he had not been very tolerant.

Mycroft crosses to the large window overlooking the Thames. The weather is foggy, cold mizzle and he wishes he could stay here, safe and dry. He has an appointment he is not looking forward to.

 

*********

 

"Ready?"

Billy nods.

"Will she be all right?"

Greg smiles. He has just returned from dropping his daughter off at her godfathers' flat in Kensington.

"She'll be fine. Arkady and Luce will look after her. Don't worry."

"I can't help it. Mycroft said November the fifth, and it's only the first. What do you think he wants today?"

"I don't know, Bill. I don't see any more of him than you do. I expect we'll find out when we get there."

There is a ping and a buzz as both men's phones announce text messages. Billy checks his.

"Mycroft's driver. The car's here."

Greg hands Billy his coat and they make their way down to the street. Mycroft's driver is holding the back door of the black car open for them. They climb in. Mycroft is already inside.

"Good morning Bill." Mycroft nods at Greg. "Gregor."

"Morning, Myc. Where are we going, then?"

Mycroft settles back in his seat as the car starts to move.

"We have an appointment with my mother's solicitor."

Billy blinks.

"Why do _we_ need to meet Viola's solicitor?"

"I believe you and your daughter are beneficiaries of her will…"

Greg frowns.

"Doesn't the will usually get read _after_ the funeral?"

Mycroft shrugs; the movement barely noticeable.

"There is no legal need to wait. I would prefer to have our arguments over legacies sooner, rather than later."

"Arguments?"

Greg raises an eyebrow in Billy's direction. Billy flushes.

"We had a row over Siger's estate. I didn't want anything of his, but Myc manipulated me into taking two houses and some other stuff. "

Mycroft sniffs.

"The larger house is in Hero's name, as I recall."

"Yeah. All right. But I'm not even related to Viola. Why would she leave _me_ anything?"

Mycroft presses his lips together for a moment, the skin around his mouth whitening from the pressure.

"In her last weeks, she spoke about her grandsons, and her regret that she was not allowed to see Hero…"

Greg frowns.

"Hero isn't her granddaughter, Myc. And you know why we kept our distance."

"Yes. But my mother was old, Gregor. And her memory suffered lapses…"

 

*********

 

"I need a drink."

Billy is tense, he has spent the return journey pressed up against the car door, knee bouncing, ankle twitching. Mycroft nods, gestures through the glass to his driver.

"There is an establishment that you may find comfortable just a few minutes away."

The driver takes them across the river and through a winding maze of back streets, finally stopping outside an old, traditional-looking public house. Billy bangs his head on the car door as he gets out, and again on the door frame of the pub.

"You're too tall, Bill."

"Nah. Just a bit preoccupied. Can I have a whisky, please?"

Billy follows the signs through the bar to the side door. It opens onto a riverside terrace-garden. He lights his first cigarette of the day and drags the smoke deep while he waits for Mycroft and Greg.

"Got you a Glenfiddich." Greg miles apologetically. "They didn't have Laphroaig."

Billy takes the glass, swirls the amber liquid before taking a sip. He winces as the spirit touches a sore spot he has bitten into his lip. Greg and Mycroft look at each other. They have both come to recognise signs of anxiety in Billy.

"What is it, Bill? What's wrong?"

Billy shakes his head.

"Dunno, really. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised I've got yet another house…"

"Iceland, though? " Greg frowns. "Why would she leave you a house in Iceland?"

Mycroft smiles.

"It was part of Siger's estate. She tried to give it to Bill once before…"

"Yeah. Before Hero was born. I didn't want it then, and I don't know what to do with it now. I don't suppose anyone else wanted it."

"That's not what's bothering you, though."

"It's Hero." Billy scowls in Mycroft's direction. "She's going to have Viola's jewellery. She'll have these beautiful things to remind her of a woman who isn't her grandmother, and only a little cheap locket as a relic of her actual grandmother."

He sniffs hard to fend off tears that threaten to make him look foolish in front of his brother.

"There isn't even a grave for her to visit on Toussaint…"

"All Saints Day." Mycroft nods, a look of sympathy on his face. "Of course. I sometimes forget just how French she is."

He lapses into thoughtful silence for a minute or so, then pulls his phone from his pocket and fires off a flurry of text messages. Billy glances at Greg, who shrugs. He has given up on expecting Mycroft to explain what he is doing. They sip at their drinks while they wait to be enlightened. Eventually, Mycroft looks up.

"Bill, you knew your maternal grandmother, I believe?"

Billy blinks.

"Yeah. My gran lived with us when I was little. She died when I was eleven…"

"Where is she buried, if you don't mind my asking?"

Billy frowns.

"She was cremated. We scattered her ashes along the canal."

"Ah." Mycroft frowns. "So there is no particular place you go to…remember her?"

"No grave, if that's what you mean. There's a chapel at the crematorium. They have a book with the names in. Names of the deceased. And the dates they died. There's a visitors' book as well. You can write messages in it. ' _Thinking of you'_ type of thing."

Mycroft sighs quietly.

"I thought it might be possible to pull some strings, to have your mother's bones interred with the remains of _her_ mother. But that obviously won't be possible. I am sorry, Bill. "

"Can't be helped. I would like to bury her, though. Somewhere."


	3. Ceremonies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three brothers attend a funeral
> 
> Written for the SFPAC Death, Saints and the Supernatural challenge. 
> 
> Part 3: Death
> 
> Chapter prompt words: Death; Celebration; Memories  
> Chapter characters: Billy; Sherlock; Mycroft

Fog swirls around the three men standing shoulder to shoulder at the entrance to the mausoleum.

"I feel a bit of a fraud." Billy pushes his damp hair back from his forehead and shudders as droplets of mist coalesce and run down inside his collar. "It's too posh. I don't belong here."

Sherlock snorts.

"Since you are the only Knight of the realm among the three of us, it seems entirely appropriate to your status."

Billy grins, a nervous rictus.

"Still. I'm not even properly related to her…"

"You are related to _us_ , Bill." Mycroft's voice is clipped. "And we both appreciate your presence today."

Billy is shocked to see a tear trickle down Mycroft's cheek. For a moment he thinks he is mistaken, that it is a fog droplet, but it is followed by another, accompanied by a sniff. He looks across at Sherlock, standing rigid on the other side of his brother. No tears there, but strain is etched into deep creases around the mouth and red-rimmed eyes. Sherlock glances sideways at his elder brother.

" _Sentiment_ , Mycroft?"

"Don't be ridiculous. The wind has made my eyes water a little."

Billy bites down on his own feelings. His brothers are burying their mother. He has no business being uncomfortable in the face of their uncharacteristic distress. He stands quietly, reflecting on his memories of his own mother, whose death had not been accorded such dignity.

The interment ceremony is short and as plain as it can be, given the surroundings. Sherlock strides ahead as the brothers walk back to the cemetery gates. Mycroft and Billy follow more slowly.

"He has given instructions that he is not to be buried in the family vault."

Billy frowns.

"I wouldn't have thought he'd be bothered what happens…"

Mycroft smiles tightly.

"He wants to be buried with John…"

Billy nods.

"He's never got over losing him has he? Not properly."

"No. And the nature of his illness made it all so much worse." Mycroft clears his throat. "Bill, have you made a will? Lodged instructions for your funeral? You are of course entitled to be buried here…"

Billy blinks.

"I've made a will, of course. The solicitors wouldn't let me not make one. Pretty much everything will go to Hero." He sniffs. "Greg wants his ashes scattered in the Camargue. I might get Blue Charlie to chuck mine on the bonfire when the time comes."

"Jack's family will insist on him being buried in Scotland. I really should be here, in the family vault." Mycroft sighs. "Bill, Hero will want a grave to visit at Toussaint…"

"She'll have her grandmother's grave. I've bought a plot in Highgate Cemetery. We'll be burying her bones next week. There won't be much of a 'do'. Just me and Greg. And Hero, if she wants to come. "

Mycroft nods. "That seems appropriate. Highgate is a beautiful cemetery."

Billy smiles.

"We'll be having her wake before her funeral. At the homeless celebration tonight in Camden. I always go if I'm in London on Guy Fawkes night, it's a way of staying in touch with who I am. Shezz has been to one or two, in the past; he's got an open invitation. You're welcome to come as well. Let your hair down a bit. Give your mum a send-off."

Mycroft frowns.

"Would I really be welcome?"

Billy grins

"Yeah. We take all sorts. Bring a bottle. And a bunch of chrysanths. We kick off at about eight. "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those unfamiliar with the Billyverse, Billy is Sherlock's half brother (and Mycroft's, of course). 
> 
> Mycroft has been married to Jack Logan (OC) for eleven years. Sherlock married John Watson at the same time (a double wedding), but John died three years later. 
> 
> Blue Charlie is a prominent member of the Homeless Network. 
> 
> Billy was knighted as a result of events that took place in The Irregulars.

**Author's Note:**

> If you are new to the Billyverse, it might help you to read the summaries of my Billyverse series, to get an idea of how Greg and Billy have fared over the sixteen years that they have been friends, lovers and finally, husbands.


End file.
